Lating material



' r. s. MEAD.

MACHINE FOR COMPRESYSING J'AC'KETED TELEGRAPH WIRE TREATED WITHINSULATING MATERIAL.

Patented-May 2, 1876 NJ'ETERS. PHOTOLITNDGRAPNEH, WASHINGTON. D c.

invention.

NITED; STA'rns F. PHILLIPS, ,OF SAME PLACE.

IMPROVEMENT IN MACHINES FOR COMPRESSING JACKETED TELEGRAPH-WIRE TREATEDWITH lNSU-' LATING MATERIAL.

Specification forming part of Letters Patent No. 176,978, dated May 2,1876; application filed March 18, 1876.

To all whom it may concern Be it knownithat I, FRANK S. MEAD, of thecity and county of Providence, in the State of Rhode Island, haveinvented certain new and in connection with the drawings furnished andforming a part of the same, is a clear, true, and complete descriptionof my invention.

My invention consists in the combination, with suitable wire-feedingmechanism, of a cooperative series of two or more compressing-headsprovided with axial openings and com pressing clamps or springs, mountedsuc cessivel y in a line which corresponds with their several axes, andconnected with mechanism which revolves some of said heads in onedirection and others in the opposite direction, whereby a wire jacketedwith fibrous material and treated with insulating matter, may becontinuously passed longitudinally through all of said heads, receiveperipherical compression from the springs of each, and have the rotativestrain on the wire, exerted by the heads which revolve in one direction,counteracted or balanced by the strain of those which revolve in theopposite direction.

Referring to the drawings, Figure 1 represents in perspective a machineembodying my Fig. 2 represents the same in longitudinal vertical sectionon a line with the axes of one set of revolving heads.

A denotes the main driving-shaft, from which power is communicated tothe moving parts of the machine. B denotes, in each instance, arevolving compressinghead, composed, preferably, of iron or steel. Eachhas an axial opening throughout its length, and a groove at its rear endfor receiving a cord or belt, as shown. Each head is also provided witha clamp, preferably composed of two flat springs, as at a, which aresecured, in each instance, to the head by a screw, so arranged withrelation to. the bearings of the spring on the head, that the outer endsof said spring may be deflected to any desired extent, and

made to compress thewire when it is inter-- posed between the coincidentfiat or curved faces of'the outer ends of each pair of springs.

The heads are arranged in one or more co-op-,

erative series, or, in other words, the several heads in each set orseries revolve in an axial line, which is common to all the heads in theset, sothat all of them may simultaneously operate upon the same wire.Any'desired number of these cooperative series, arranged side by side,may be embodied in any one machine by having its several parts properlyproportioned, but it will seldom be desirable to have a capacityforoperating on more than eight or ten wires at the same time;

The covered and insulated wire is fed to the heads from one of a seriesof reels, shown at b, over a guiding-roll at c, thence through a set ofheads, thence over a driven roll to the receiving-reel at d. These reelsand rolls, as shown, constitute a desirable wire-feeding mechanism.

For many years prior to my invention, machines embodying a revolvinghead, provided with a compressing-spring and a counter-rest have beenemployed for compressing and finishing bonnet-wire covered with fibrousmaterial and dressed with starchy compounds, and machines of the samegeneral .character as the bonnet-Wire machines, with 1 .two springs onthe head, have been hereto-' fore used for compressing telegraph wirescovered with fibrous material and insulating matter.

It will be seen that in theproportion to the degree of compressionexerted on the part of the springs upon The covered wire, there exists atendency on the part of the head as it revolves to twist the wire andits covering. In using a single head on a wire it is unsafe to exertmuch compressive force with the springs, as in practice the wire will,when under a heavy compression, be twisted off, broken, or otherwiseinjured by the revolving head. In my improved machine each headcounteracts the twisting-force of the next succeeding head,

and as a result, it is practicable with the two or more heads, operatingon the same ATE FFIG'E.

wire, to cause their springs to exert a much greater degree ofcompressive force than would be practically possible with the singlehead as heretofore employed. Moreover, with two or more heads arrangedin series, and revolved in accordance with my invention, I am enabled toattain on the wire a more true and even surface than can be attained bythe use of the single head. There is, of course, more or less rotativedisplacement of the fibrous covering and insulating matter by reason ofthe compressive-action of each pair of springs, and in my improvedmachine the second head of each set corrects any displacement which maybe due to the action of the first head, and so on throughout the series,if it have more than two heads. I am enabled, too, with my improvedmachine, to secure better compressing results on wire when it is passedthrough the heads, at twice the speed at which it is practicable tofeedit to a machine having the single head, as heretofore.

I prefer to employ an even number of heads in each cooperative series,because, in that case, they can be equally divided and one half .of themrevolved in one direction, and the other half in the opposite direction.The best results will be attained by arranging them so that between eachtwo heads which revolve in one direction there will be a head revolvingin the opposite direction. If three heads are employed in a series, thecentral one will be revolved oppositely to the other two, and itssprings may be set so as to hear more heavily upon the wire than thesprings of either of the other heads. By this means a complete.

counteraction 0r balancing of the twisting strain is secured. Thedistance between the heads should be as little as is consistent withconvenience in adjusting the heads, so that there will be but a shortlength of wire between them. For wires of small size, two heads in aseries are sufficient, while with complex wires or cables as many as sixcooperative heads may be successfully employed with valuable results.

Having thus described my invention, 1 claim as new and desire to secureby these Letters Patent In a machine for peripherically compressingtelegraphic wires covered with fibrous and insulating matter, thecombination, with suitable wire-feeding mechanism, of two or morecompressingheads, each having an axial opening, and a compressing clampor suitable springs, all arranged to operate simultaneously on the samewire, and provided with driving mechanism for revolving some of saidheads in one direction and others in the opposite direction,substantially as described.

FRANK S. MEAD.

